Meadowbank Rail Bridge over Parramatta River

Item details


Name of item:	Meadowbank Rail Bridge over Parramatta River
Other name/s:	John Whitton Bridge, Meadowbank Rhodes Railway Bridge
Type of item:	Built
Group/Collection:	Transport - Rail
Category:	Railway Bridge/ Viaduct
Location:	Lat: -33.8219662450 Long: 151.0887713320
Primary address:	Main Northern railway, Meadowbank, NSW 2114
Local govt. area:	Ryde
Local Aboriginal Land Council:	Metropolitan

Boundary:

The listing boundary is the area on which the bridges, piers and abutments stand. The listing does not include the adjacent modern railway bridge.

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
Main Northern railway	Meadowbank	Ryde			Primary Address
Main Northern railway	Rhodes	Ryde			Alternate Address

Owner/s

Organisation Name	Owner Category	Date Ownership Updated
Crown Lands - Planning and Environment	State Government

Statement of significance:


	The Meadowbank-Rhodes bridge is one of twelve double lattice girder bridges that survive substantially intact in the NSW railway system. As such it is of exceptional heritage significance as evidence of a short lived but highly popular approach to bridge design in which the spanning girders were reinforced by a lattice of bars, adjusted to suit changing structural forces. This bridge is the largest double track lattice girder bridge to be prefabricated in England for export to Australia and has significant variations on the standardised design. The bridge is one of the most architecturally impressive nineteenth century Australian railway structures. A unity in design, lively detail, skilful use of materials and fine workmanship is displayed by the bridge and its abutments. The Meadowbank-Rhodes bridge is an exceptional piece of early Australian railway engineering. (Sinclair Knight Merz, 1996)
	Date significance updated: 03 May 12
	Note: The State Heritage Inventory provides information about heritage items listed by local and State government agencies. The State Heritage Inventory is continually being updated by local and State agencies as new information becomes available. Read the Department of Premier and Cabinet copyright and disclaimer.

Description


Designer/Maker:	John Whitton
Construction years:	1886-1886
	Date condition updated:27 Nov 00


Current use:	Cycleway
Former use:	Rail bridge

History


Historical notes:	Traditionally, major bridges requiring spans in excess of 100 ft (30m) have used iron or steel trusses. The 26 on the North Coast railway are typical. After 1960, welding significantly reduced the dead weight of plate web girders which could then span up to 100 ft. Overseas developments of the box girders allowed spans in excess of 200ft to be accommodated.

Historic themes

Australian theme (abbrev)	New South Wales theme	Local theme
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Transport-Activities associated with the moving of people and goods from one place to another, and systems for the provision of such movements	Rail transport-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Transport-Activities associated with the moving of people and goods from one place to another, and systems for the provision of such movements	Maritime navigation and regulation-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Transport-Activities associated with the moving of people and goods from one place to another, and systems for the provision of such movements	Bridging rivers-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Utilities-Activities associated with the provision of services, especially on a communal basis	Public Transport - suburban railway lines-
7. Governing-Governing	Government and Administration-Activities associated with the governance of local areas, regions, the State and the nation, and the administration of public programs - includes both principled and corrupt activities.	Developing roles for government - building and administering rail networks-

Procedures /Exemptions

Section of act	Description	Title	Comments	Action date
57(2)	Exemption to allow work	Standard Exemptions	ORDER UNDER SECTION 57(2) OF THE HERITAGE ACT 1977 Standard exemptions for engaging in or carrying out activities / works otherwise prohibited by section 57(1) of the Heritage Act 1977. I, the Hon James Griffin MP, Minister for Environment and Heritage, pursuant to subsection 57(2) of the Heritage Act 1977, on the recommendation of the Heritage Council of New South Wales do by this Order, effective at the time of publication in the New South Wales Government Gazette: 1. revoke the order made on 9 November 2020 and published in the Government Gazette Number 318 of 13 November 2020; and 2. grant the exemptions from subsection 57(1) of the Heritage Act 1977 that are described in the attached Schedule. The Hon James Griffin MP Minister for Environment and Heritage Signed this 2nd day of June 2022. To view the standard exemptions for engaging in or carrying out activities / works otherwise prohibited by section 57(1) of the Heritage Act 1977 click on the link below.	Jun 17 2022

Standard exemptions for engaging in or carrying out activities / works otherwise prohibited by section 57(1) of the Heritage Act 1977

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Title	Listing Number	Gazette Date	Gazette Number	Gazette Page
Heritage Act - State Heritage Register		01189	02 Apr 99	27	1546
Heritage Act - s.170 NSW State agency heritage register

References, internet links & images

Type	Author	Year	Title	Internet Links
Tourism		2007	Meadowbank rail bridges over Parramatta River	View detail
Tourism	Attraction Homepage	2007	Meadowbank rail bridges over Parramatta River	View detail

Note: internet links may be to web pages, documents or images.

(Click on thumbnail for full size image and image details)

Data source


The information for this entry comes from the following source:
Name:	Heritage NSW
Database number:	5012099

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